B is for Boredom Busters

Being bored while working out is nothing new, but with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing around the world, it's likely that you're finding yourself even more bored than usual because of the restrictions you're living under.  So how to combat that?  Let's see if I can help.

Gym closed?  

• You can still get out and walk or run (in most areas), as long as you follow your required social distancing protocols.  

• You can modify your gym routine at home, even without expensive equipment (things like resistance bands, medicine balls, hand weights, jump rope, and of course the devil's sidewalk - the dreadmill).  I've shared some tips on this post of things you might have around the house to use as weights.  Get creative!

Monotony of the treadmill make you nuts?

• Watch TV.  I have my treadmill set up in the garage, and put a TV out there to keep me from going crazy.  I have a Roku device as well as a Hulu subscription, so there's always something to watch, even if I don't have that TV hooked up to cable.  Isn't streaming TV one of the greatest inventions ever?  

• Podcasts are my new friend, and they can be yours too.  I've looked at several different podcast services and the one I found the easiest to maneuver around is Stitcher.  You can search for topics you like and save them as favorites, and never run out of things to listen to.  I listen more when I'm walking/running outside than I do on the treadmill, but if you don't have access to a TV where your treadmill is, it's a great option.

• Listen to audio books.  Reading while on the treadmill can be a bit difficult (although I've done it!), so audio books offer a good alternative that is less likely to trip you up.  There are a number of different apps/subscriptions you can access, and your local library might even offer a good selection for you to take advantage of.  Let your mind wander with a timeless classic, or learn a new language.  The options are limitless.

Same scenery too boring?

• If walking around your neighborhood has become mundane, research what trails you can find within a short drive, or venture further out and make a day of it.  Pack a picnic lunch and tailgate if parks are closed.  Again, be sure to stay within the restrictions imposed in your area.

• It's not always about training for a race or competition, so include the family more often.  Kids can ride their bikes if you're running, or just take a family walk instead.  Make a list of appropriate things you might find where you're walking and have a scavenger hunt.  Bring chalk and leave your mark and share good tidings and encouragement to others who might come along after you.  Even better, make a hopscotch diagram to encourage others to get moving too.

Restrictions suck, but don't use the Corona virus pandemic as an excuse to be lazy.  Being active is even more important for your mental health now.  Get up and get moving!

~ Marie Anne

Painless Workouts for Lightweights

(courtesy of Healthy Living)

Are you overweight, getting up in years, or have health issues that make it difficult to do more strenuous forms of exercise?  Do you get frustrated because you can't do even two reps of traditional workouts that others breeze through?  Do you get winded trying to run on the treadmill, or feel uncoordinated on the elliptical?   Don't let it get you down!  Find modified versions of activities that work for you, and just do what you can for as long as you can.  Any time spent in movement of any kind is better than parking your butt on the couch in front of TV with a bowl of popcorn.

Use your hands

Hand weights can help you tone up when used alone, or burn more calories if you hold them while walking.  There are various types and sizes available, but before buying a set that is too heavy for you, rummage in your pantry for a can of soup or jar of peanut butter!  They're very lightweight and won't make a big difference right away, but it's a good place to start before moving up to traditional equipment that weighs more.  While watching TV, get off the couch during commercials and punch out a few different exercises while stepping in place.  It might seem silly, but it's better than starting with a higher weight than you can easily manage, and getting discouraged or hurting yourself.

If these walls could talk

Pushups are great to work your core, arms, chest, abs (basically everything above the waist) and don't require any special equipment, but I can't do them at my weight, and I can't even manage bent-knee pushups because of a knee injury.  What can a fat old lady do instead?  Wall pushups!  While you won't get the full benefit of lifting your body weight from the floor as with the traditional exercise, you also aren't likely to hurt yourself by trying.  You'll still be working the same areas of the body, just to a lesser degree.  You can always add more reps, or more sets to your workout to increase the benefit.  Still find it too easy?  Graduate like I did and rest your hands on a counter top instead of the wall.  You might surprise yourself and eventually work up to regular floor pushups.

Dance fever
I've tried a number of difference aerobic exercise videos, and even at times when I thought I was in decent shape, I found them difficult to keep up with.  I also don't always have the time (or desire) to devote 30 minutes or more to following along with an instructor in a regimented fashion.  What works for me?  Dancing. While watching TV, I'll get up when a commercial is on and either step in place, side to side, or throw some kicks in (with my can of kidney beans in hand), or, if music is playing, start shaking my booty (there are benefits to living alone with my dogs).  One local television station broadcasts music and dancing from shagging clubs and my feet will start moving before I even realize it.  I don't really shag, but the music gets me doing my own thing in a more exaggerated fashion that just a walk.  I find that I can keep moving just about the whole show with just a few seconds break here and there, and I can't imagine just walking in place or doing an aerobics video for that long without being bored to tears.  Crank up your favorite radio station, or better yet, one of the television stations that features music so you have the visual stimulation as well.  Music (without the interruption and distraction of someone telling you what to do ) makes everything more fun!  Want to get the kids involved?  Do The Locomotion or Bunny Hop around the house.

Exaggeration isn't always a bad thing
Since I don't work outside the home and am not busy keeping up with a family, my life is pretty sedentary unless I make a real effort to move.  I try to exaggerate my movements whenever I do get up, to add more steps and activity to my day.  If I get up to go to the bathroom, I'll add a few laps around the interior of the house before sitting back down. I'm still displaced from Hurricane Florence and living in a hotel, so if I have to go down to the laundry, I'll take the stairs instead of the elevator, then walk the halls or jump on the recumbent bike in the fitness area while waiting on clothes to wash or dry.  If I'm not pressed for time while out shopping, I'll walk every aisle instead of just those that I need to shop from.  When tidying up a room, I'll carry one or two things at a time to put it away instead of trying to do it all in one trip.  Most everyone can walk, and you're already doing it while going about your regular daily routine, so find little ways to expand on it.  Every extra step counts!

What're you doing today to increase your activity?

~ Marie Anne

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My Favorite Bluetooth Wireless Headphones for Running

My new favorite headphones

Since I started running in recent months, I've found several tools of the trade, so to speak, that have made my life on the road easier less unpleasant.  One of them is a good set of bluetooth wireless headphones.  I've  got a couple of pairs of wired headphones and they had great sound quality and worked well enough, but I was forever getting tangled in the cords, no matter what I did.  I usually tuck my phone into my jogging bra and my reading glasses hang from the front of my top, so the wires were making my running and walking life miserable.

Could wireless earbuds be the solution?  I'm no techie by any stretch and have to admit that the idea of bluetooth wireless headphones scared me just a bit.  I had never used bluetooth anything before and was afraid it would be too technical for me.  What was all this pairing stuff about?  Would I need to call my son 600 miles away and have him walk me through it?  Not wanting to spend a lot of money on something that I might not be able to figure out, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to get a pair of bluetooth earbuds at a discount in exchange for an honest review on amazon.  I've since tried a couple of different models and they all worked equally well, with decent sound quality, so now I have one hanging on my treadmill and keep one in my running bag where I stash gum, reading glasses, snot rag bandana, and water bottle - ready to grab on my way out the door.

My new best running friend is the HV-930 Wireless Stereo Headset,  where the device is worn around the neck, completely out of the way.  The wires go the short distance from the receiver/neck piece to the ears, so there's nothing hanging down behind your head or in front of you to flop around or get tangled in anything.  They are very lightweight and I've worn them both walking and jogging on the treadmill and on the road a number of times, and even two recent 5K races, and they've performed perfectly.  The device doesn't bounce around the neck, it just sits flat against my collarbone, and it's so light that I don't even know it's there.

© Marie Anne St. Jean

I don't use any fancy music programs, just the Amazon Music app that's free with amazon prime, and my phone is nothing spectacular either (Android, Samsung Galaxy S4), but the app performs well with these headphones and the sound quality of these earbuds is pretty darned good.  The package includes the neck piece receiver with attached earbuds, extra earbud pads/covers of varying sizes, USB cable for charging, and instruction manual.  It was simple to pair the device by turning it on, going to settings on my phone, and selecting bluetooth, which found the headset and paired immediately.  Done and done.

Oh, another nice little feature of these bluetooth headphones is the earbuds are magnetic (not the side that goes into your ear ... duh), and they pop right into the ends of the receiver for storage when not in use.

Magnetic earbuds tucked into the receiver
© Marie Anne St. Jean

I honestly can't think of a thing that I'd change about this wireless headset, and was happy to give the product an honest 5-star review on amazon, not influenced by the fact that I was able to buy them at a discount.

~ Marie Anne

Bored walking on the treadmill? Not since I got my Kindle holder!

Walking or jogging on the treadmill never really bothered me much before, as long as there was something decent to watch on TV.  Since there's not much I care to even watch on television nowadays, it's become more of a chore.  Even if there is something on that doesn't rattle my morals, I have to crank the volume up so that I can hear it over the noise of the treadmill, and I'm sure my three dogs don't appreciate that too much.

It got better when I got these awesome in-ear headphones or earbuds or whatever you want to call them, and could listen to my audio bible app or my pastor's sermons that I missed,  They're very good quality and the sound is amazingly crisp.  Still, I'd rather be watching something while I walk or jog on the 'dreadmill', rather than just listen.  I do use the earbuds extensively when I walk outside, though.

Although I swore I never wanted a Kindle, much preferring to turn the actual pages of a book, I broke down and ordered the Kindle Fire just before Christmas when they were on sale.  It turned out to be a wise purchase for me, and money well spent, as I was able to use it while traveling over the holiday, and in most cases it got a better connection than my slow, cheap laptop did.

When the weather turned much colder and now that there's snow added to the mix, much of my walking is indoors.  To keep from going batty, I needed to find a shelf or holder so I could fire up the Kindle and read while walking.  Of course I went straight to amazon, where I found this exercise mount for iPad that had decent reviews and didn't cost an arm and a leg, so decided to give it a try.

At first I didn't think it was going to work out because the prongs that hold the mount on the treadmill weren't wide enough to fit over my console panel.  If it didn't have a secure hold, I was worried that it would bounce around and make me dizzy, or worse, fall off and BOOM - there goes my new Kindle Fire.

After playing with it for a few days, I realized that it's pretty secure, and I've been using it for between 4-10 miles of walking every day for over a month now.  Even at a slow jog, it doesn't shift or move at all, even though my cheaper treadmill isn't nearly as sturdy as better, higher-priced models.  My eyes and equilibrium definitely appreciate that the words aren't bouncing around on my Kindle screen!

© Marie Anne St. Jean

I'm in the throes of a huge challenge on Leap4Life, and this tablet holder has been a lifesaver for me as a Kindle bookshelf.  I just make sure I have at least one good book to read and set my treadmill to a pace to either walk at a steady clip or a slow jogging pace, and off I go, letting my mind wander off into whatever depths the plot takes me.  With a really good read, my feet and legs don't even realize how far they're carrying me, and my mileage has increased greatly.

So if schlepping along on the treadmill is incredibly boring to you, find a way to make the experience just a little brighter.  The earbuds and treadmill bookshelf make a huge difference to me.

~ Marie Anne

P.S.  While my hat has surely seen better days, my Kindle screen isn't cracked.  It's the reflection of my ceiling.

P.P.S.  I did receive the earbuds at a reduced price in order to review them on amazon, but this blog post is just an afterthought, and not influenced in any way by the discount.  I purchased both the Kindle Fire and the iPad holder at full price and am not receiving compensation for mentioning them here.  If you happen to make a purchase after following one of my links, I might make a few pennies.

Tights for the win!

©Marie Anne St. Jean

It's been bitterly cold here lately, and I'm so thankful that I bought the treadmill when I did, because it's kept me moving when weather conditions would have had me sidelined.  I've not been doing any real long or strenuous workouts, usually just a mile or so at a time, sometimes just walking, sometimes warming up with a walk and breaking into a slow jog for part of it, but it beats burying myself on the couch under a blanket.

I wasn't sure I'd do much more today than normal, between Sunday school, church, and having to run out to tend to chickens in cold weather every two hours at a minimum, and those dishes in the sink won't wash themselves, but I climbed aboard and started putting one foot in front of the other to see where it might take me.

Let me back up a minute ... I was angry at myself for not doing laundry the other day because I found I didn't have any clean longjohns to wear today.  Not only is it chilly in here, but my sweatpants fit better with an extra layer underneath because they're all so big and baggy.  Thinking about what I might be able to substitute, I remembered I had some warm tights that I picked up at a bargain price somewhere online - they're sweater tights made by Chinese Laundry.  They're almost like leggings (but they're tights, so have feet) so I said what the heck, let me give them a try.  I put them on and they fit snugly like tights, but they're heavier and warm, so I decided to forego the sweatpants altogether and just wear a long sweatshirt over the tights and call it good.  I wasn't expecting any deliveries on a Sunday, so no worries about the FedEx or UPS driver catching me in something I'd rather not be caught wearing.

They felt good.  I felt good.

I started off at a walk and thought I'd try to get a mile or so in at a minimum, not really wanting to do much more after the big bowl of chili I'd just eaten for lunch.  After the warm-up at a walk, though, I started to feel a little frisky, so kicked into a slow jog.  When I saw the 20 minute mark coming up, I decided to go for 25, then 30 minutes, then 45, and oh why not ... let's see if you can get to 3 miles and a 5K, MA ... and I did!

3.2 miles at a 3.7 mph pace

I stopped at 3.2 miles to try to get a picture of the console, then started back up at a slow walk to cool down properly, and ended up with a full 60 minute workout when all was said and done.

Full hour, including warm-up and cool down

Now my jog is still a slow one - today's jaunt was a 3.7 mph pace after the walking warm-up - but I'm 57 years old, still overweight (but working on that!), and only started working out a couple of months ago after the knee injury more than two years ago.  That I'm doing anything at all is a blessing indeed, and I'm grateful for how far I've come, and every step that I'm able to take.

So I made two milestones today ... I completed the equivalent of a 5K in one workout (although the first half mile or so was at a walk), and I worked out for a full 60 minute stretch.  My next personal challenge will be do the full 5K at a jog, and I'll be doing that in support of the family of a former Marine I served with many years ago (separate blog post coming about that ... and I'll throw down the gauntlet in a challenge to all of you).

I honestly don't think I would have done as much today if I'd been wearing my sweatpants that feel cumbersome flapping around my legs.  The more comfortable I feel, the more motivated I am to do more, and I feel good about myself.  There's another whole blog post in my head on that subject, so I'll leave that for another time, and instead leave you with this:

This is how I felt after completing my workout today.  Enjoy!

~ Marie Anne

When Is a Day Off From Training Not a Day Off?

I scheduled today as an off day from my training for the virtual 5K, so I didn't do a walk/jog, but I wasn't a total slacker, and actually ending up doing more than I'd planned.

This morning I got on the recumbent bike for 30 min, then later took the dogs for a walk for just under 30 min.  I have three of them now and it's really hard to get a good walk in when they're stopping to sniff or pee (and never at the same time), so I took each of them separately today.  Walking one at a time allowed for much more forward motion, rather than all over the road.  It worked out much better and I think I'll continue that, at least part of the time.

Since starting back up with watching my food intake and exercising more, I haven't really felt hungry at all, which has been a blessing.  Today, for some reason, I did feel hungry, and I'm not sure what's going on there.  I sipped water all day and will get my 8 full glasses in before it's over, so it's not dehydration.

To try to combat the hunger, I decided to get in another walk this evening, and even grabbed my 3 lb hand weights to see how that would work out.  It didn't.  I started off ok, but they're a bit too big to walk and swing my arms properly because they either hit each other if I swung to the front, or they hit my side.  I ended up dropping them after two minutes or so into the walk, then picked them up on the way back.  It wasn't so much the weight (although 3 lbs is probably too much to start with), but the actual size.  I think I'll look for some 1 or 1.5 lb hand weights to see if they might work better.

I'm still hungry, but since my day off from training turned out to not be much of an off day at all, I think I've earned a little snack while sipping the two remaining cups of water I need today.  I'm still within my calorie count for the day, so now just need to decide which to have -- peanut butter on celery, almonds, pistachios, or a hunk of cheddar cheese.

~ Marie Anne

Can I Run in My Walking Shoes?

Most people have some sort of sneaker or athletic shoe in their closet, and some might wonder if that's good enough to start jogging or running in.  The answer is an emphatic no.  Running might seem like just a fast form of walking, but that's far from the truth.

Even if your slow jog is no faster than a walk (like mine is right now), your body is still using different muscles in different ways.  A different part of your foot is taking most of the impact when it strikes the surface whether walking or running, and also not at the same intensity.  When running, your feet are pounding the ground with much more pressure, and you need a shoe that will be able to absorb the shock, or you're setting yourself up for injury.  Make sure to wear the proper shoe, one that will provide the right amount of support, flexibility, and stability for the activity that you're performing.

Your everyday sneakers or tennis shoes are probably ok if all you're doing is a short walk here and there, but if you have feet or leg problems, are overweight, or walking often or for longer distances, wearing a good walking shoe is wise.  If you're going to be doing any jogging or running at all, however, a running shoe is a must.  If your training plan calls for both walking and jogging, lace up your running shoes.  It's ok to walk in your running shoes, but a bad idea to run in your walking shoes.

If you've been jogging in your walking shoes, you'll notice a big difference when switching.  Running shoes are usually much lighter and more flexible, and I'll bet you'll find that you're able to lift your feet higher and go for a longer distance than with your clunky walking shoes.  I wore new running shoes when I did my :33 walk/jog last night and was amazed at the difference.  I felt like I was flying (ok, maybe just gliding), rather than simply dragging my feet along the pavement during the jog portions of my workout.

Wearing improper shoes is probably one of the biggest causes of jogging and running injuries.  Since shoes are really the only equipment that's required to start your fitness journey by walking or jogging, don't take any shortcuts -- invest in a good pair.  If you can only afford one pair of fitness shoes, splurge for the running shoes.  Your joints and muscles will thank you.

~ Marie Anne

Hula Hoops for Fun and Fitness

Photo by madmaven

While picking up a few things at the Dollar Tree this morning, a rack of hula hoops caught my eye.  Hmm ... I used to be able to hula hoop forever some 40-odd years ago, so thought that might be a good thing to add to my workout to mix things up a bit.  Since it was only a buck, I grabbed a pretty pink one and headed for home, reminiscing all the while about fun times shaking my hips to keep that hoop spinning as a scrawny kid.  As I think back, I believe it was Nana that bought me the hula hoop and it was kept at her house, and sometimes she'd join in and give it a spin!

The fun was short-lived after I got home and tried it out.  I stepped into the hoop, gave it a big spin and gyrated for all I was worth, only to have it drop to my feet after only a revolution or two.  I picked it up, dusted off my pride and tried again, with similar results.  Wow.  I wasn't expecting great things, but I also didn't expect to fail miserably.  I mean, how hard can it be?  It's a simple plastic hoop.  Wiggle your middle and keep it going, right?  Is it even possible to hula hoop incorrectly?  Are printed directions required?